


Minashigo (Mitsuhide Route)

by Shinnichi666



Category: Samurai Love Ballad: PARTY
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 07:44:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18960892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinnichi666/pseuds/Shinnichi666
Summary: This is a multi-route story I wrote— similar to the game, but much darker, and the heroine isn’t so annoying and self-righteous.





	1. Part 1

Minashigo (Kiyosu) pt. 1 (Mitsuhide)  
Mitsunari   
I’m watching this terrified little girl as she sits in the far corner of the room, shaking like a leaf. Hideyoshi went to find a doctor of western medicine to not only treat her many wounds, but we’re hoping he can also translate for us. She’s obviously been terribly abused and starved. I found her digging through the refuse heap, trying to eat any last bits of food she could get. When I approached her she jumped to her feet and ran from me. She’s so malnourished, she soon fell to her knees, putting almost no distance between us. When I ran to her, she tried to get up again but her sheer terror made her body shake too much to get very far and she fell again, this time with a sickening crunch. Despite having clearly broken her left leg, which dented inwards, she didn’t scream. She just kept trying to get away from me, even as I pleaded for her to stop, “Don’t run! I’m not going to hurt you! I want to help you! Please, stop!” She obviously doesn’t understand Japanese. I caught up to her and tried to communicate with her through my body language but, as soon as I reached for her hand, she kicked me and tried to run again. She lifted herself onto her feet and hobbled along, still trying desperately to get away from me. She fell again and I knelt in front of her, trying to show her I meant no harm. I guess the combination of malnutrition and fear was too much, because she went from shaking and staring at me with wide eyes, to suddenly closing her eyes and collapsing in a heap, completely limp. Sighing, I picked her up and took her back to my chambers. She reeked of sweat, trash, and human filth. What the hell happened to you, Little One? Hideyoshi saw me and ran over, asking what was going on. I shook my head, “I have no clue. I found her digging through the trash. When she saw me, she tried to run away, broke her leg, still tried to run, then passed out.” He looked at her with sad eyes and went to get a doctor as I started cleaning her. Mitsuhide rushed into the room and said, “I heard there’s a child here who needs help?” I nodded and bowed, “Aye, Milord. I found her digging through the trash.” He knelt beside me as I started washing her and gagged at the smell as I started to remove her tattered, filthy clothes. I knew there was no saving them, so I threw them out the window as he helped bathe her. When he removed the remnants of her shirt, we saw she had a necklace with two pieces of shiny iron, shaped like hammers. They had a beautiful design on each face. He shook his head as I cleaned her dirty body and asked, “Who could treat a child like this?”   
We turned her over to check her back and gasped. She has dozens of welts and gashes on her back. She even has burns— one of which is the symbol worshipped by those missionaries who speak of someone named Christ. Mitsuhide shook his head, “Humans can be very cruel.” Another burn was a design I’d seen on expensive foreign fabrics. When I had finally washed away all the dirt, grime, excrement, and sweat, I started to dress her in bedclothes but she woke up as I reached to tie the belt. She kicked me away and tightly wrapped the robe around herself as she used her right leg to push herself away from me.   
Hideyoshi finally returned with the physician and the girl started rocking back and forth. He tried saying something to her but she didn’t seem to understand him, so he looked at her for a moment before lifting his bag and showing her the emblem on it. She stopped shaking and relaxed her legs, then let him go to her. As he examined her body, I asked why showing her a winged staff with two snakes winding around it helped calm her down. He explained, “That’s the Rod of Caduceus, it’s a symbol for medicine throughout Europe and even many parts of Northern Africa. I just showed her that I’m a doctor and mean no harm... yeah, this is a nasty break.” He beckoned me to get closer and she inhaled and started shaking again. He placed a hand on her shoulder and did a strange hand gesture, then she calmed down. The doctor told me to hold a couple sticks by her shin, then he wrapped her entire lower leg in a heavy bandage. After that he enclosed the broken leg in two halves of a bamboo culm and tied them together. He was just tying them when the door opened again and Nobunaga came into the room with Ranmaru, “I hear we have an intruder.” The girl looked up at all of us and shrank back in fear. Hideyoshi spoke to Nobunaga, “Milord, while she is, technically, an uninvited guest, she is hardly a threat of any kind. She obviously has no ill intent, look at her. She’s so malnourished, she broke her leg with a very short, simple fall.” The doctor added, “You needn’t worry, Milord. She can’t do any harm.” Nobunaga asked the doctor what he meant and the doctor nodded at her, “As Lord Hideyoshi said: she’s starving. If her brain doesn’t get a lot of sugar right away, she’ll die in a couple days, anyway. She might not even have that long.” Something about her appearance must’ve tugged at Nobunaga’s heart strings because he sighed and pulled out a flask of his candies and handed it to me, “These are basically just big clumps of sugar. I can’t think of a faster way to get sugar to her brain.” I thanked him and poured a few pieces of candy into my palm and held them out to her. She slowly reached her hand to mine, then took the sweets and tossed them into her mouth before I could even see her pull her hand back. I poured out a few more and she ate them right away, too. Nobunaga handed Mitsuhide a pouch of coins to pay the doctor, then left.   
She fell asleep right after the doctor finished treating her. He put his index finger over his lips and motioned for us to follow him. When we got outside the room, he closed the door and sighed, “I don’t know how or from where she escaped, but she cannot go back. If she does, she’ll be subjected to a fate worse than death.” I asked what he meant and he explained, “Those burns on her shoulders? The crucifix is the symbol of the Church, as you probably know. The other one is known as the fleur de lis— a French symbol of the aristocracy. The aristocrats purchase a child to be a slave and the ones who are supposed to service the masters in bed are branded with the fleur de lis. She was branded with the cross, probably because she was born to a Pagan woman. Those burns mean she will never be safe anywhere the Church has a foothold.” Hideyoshi asked why she’d be here and the doctor said, “I heard about a French aristocrat who is spreading the teachings of the Bible here in Japan. She was probably sent to service him.” Mitsuhide asked the doctor, “Wait, how old is she, anyway?” The doctor twisted his lips, “Best guess, based on height and skeletal growth... maybe four or five... six, tops.” Ranmaru sighed sadly as he looked at her, “Imagine your sexual encounter being as a six year old slave to some strange man in a foreign country.” The doctor looked more uncomfortable than before and I asked, “What now?” He scratched the back of his head as he awkwardly answered, “She’s... already started being broken in.” He continued when he saw our blank expressions, “Sex slaves are thought of as wild horses and need to be broken. Sometimes, if the girl is a virgin... men are paid to... make sure she’s not going to fight back... they do this by starving, beating, whipping, and...” the doctor trailed off and I finished his sentence, “They rape the girls.” He closed his eyes and nodded. I looked at Mitsuhide, “We can’t send her back to that life. It’s a miracle she’s alive at all.” Mitsuhide sighed and said, “Yeah, sending her back... it would be kinder to just behead her. I’ll talk to Nobunaga and convince him to let her stay.” He paid the doctor and I thanked him just before going back into my chambers. Hideyoshi came in, sat down beside me, and the two of us watched her sleep, occasionally dabbing a damp towel on her forehead and cheeks to cool her and clean away the sweat. Her eyebrows scrunched as her lips contorted in pain as she began to sweat and whimper. Hideyoshi asked me, “Are you sure you can do this? Taking care of a traumatized, sick six year old girl is a lot of work, especially for a seventeen year old man. It’ll require a lot of love, patience, and attentiveness.” I turned to him, “So, because it’ll be hard, she should just be tossed to the side of the road to die?” He looked offended, “I never said that! I was simply asking if you understand the responsibilities you’re taking on.” I sighed, “I know. Forgive my outburst, Milord. I know it’ll be hard, but she deserves to be safe and happy. I won’t change my mind.” He smiled and gave me a quick kiss, then went to bed. I stayed awake a little while longer, just watching her and thinking about how terrified she must’ve been to see me chasing her.   
I was awoken by her crying and dipped the towel on her forehead into the cool water, then dabbed away the sweat and rinsed it again. When I replaced the towel, her expression softened a little bit and she quieted down. I fell asleep again and woke a little while later to repeat the process.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsunari is now a father— and it turns out he has a soft side!

Minashigo (Kiyosu)   
Mitsunari   
It’s been a couple weeks and she is slowly becoming more comfortable with me. She still has a lot of trust issues, but that’s to be expected. I’ve been teaching her Japanese and she is actually picking it up quite well. She’s very bright and inquisitive. Her curiosity is refreshing and her ability to correctly infer conclusions is astounding. I set out a few items and corresponding name cards to help her study. The cards were not beside the item named because I still had to get an ink stone and brush. By the time I got back, all but three of the cards were in the correct spots beside the object they named. I hadn’t taught her half of those twenty words. I looked at her in curiosity and she looked down at the floor, as though apologizing. I knelt down and placed a gentle hand on her knee to get her attention, then asked her, “Did you do that yourself?” She nodded and apologized. I chuckled, “Don’t be sorry, that’s incredible! You’re a very bright girl.”   
One day, when her leg was healed enough to move, I took her to the cherry trees nearby. They were just blossoming and I thought she’d like to see something calming and serene for a change. Her eyes grew wide when she saw them and I saw her smile for the first time since I found her. I started telling her about them and she looked so happy, I decided to call her Sakura. She has really beautiful eyes. They’re always piercing and, when I saw her smile, the entire grove seemed brighter. She liked the name and we stayed in the grove for a while longer before going back to the House. She started limping as she held my hand and I asked if she was okay. She nodded, focusing too much on not complaining to speak. I told her, “You don’t have to lie. I won’t think less of you.” She turned away and I sighed, then picked her up and carried her on my hip. She leaned her head against my shoulder and fell fast asleep.   
When I returned to the House, Hideyoshi greeted me with a grin and started teasing me, “Aww, look at Mitsunari and his little girl.” Hanbei giggled as I laid her down in her futon and tucked her in. She snuggled in and sighed softly as she got comfortable. I stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, then left the room.  
I gently woke her for dinner and asked if she wanted to eat at the castle because there was a feast to welcome some honored guests. She yawned and nodded, then I helped her get ready to go. She sat between Hideyoshi and me, watching the scene as the men made vulgar jokes and reminisced about previous battles. Shortly before the trays were cleared away for dessert, she tugged on my sleeve, her subtle way of telling me she had to go to the bathroom. I nodded and excused us for a moment, then took her down the corridor to the lavatory and waited for her outside the door. When we returned to the Main Hall, the other men had started getting loud and rambunctious, so I had her sit on my lap to make sure nobody tried anything. Masamune, Kojuro, and Shigezane came over to ask about her. Shigezane spoke in an obviously drunk voice, “So, who’s this little one?” She leaned away from him and hid her face in my chest, prompting everyone else to laugh and make cooing sounds. Kojuro chuckled, “She’s a shy one, huh?” I shrugged, “It takes her a while to trust people.” I stroked her hair and spoke softly, “Sakura... it’s okay. They’re friends. They won’t hurt you.” She slowly turned to look at them and smiled shyly. Kojuro gave a warm smile and gently touched her shoulder as he said, “Sakura? That’s such a pretty name. It’s perfect for you. I’m Kojuro, and this is Masamune and he is Shigezane.” She nodded as he made introductions and he asked her, “How old are you?” She looked at me for a moment before answering, “I’m five and a half years old.” Shigezane asked why I named her that and I shrugged, “The first time she smiled was when I took her to see the cherry blossoms, so it seemed appropriate.” She nestled her cheek against my chest and I felt her starting to fall asleep, so I excused myself to put her in bed.  
Later that night, after returning from the feast, I walked into my chambers to see she wasn’t there. Even her bedding was gone. I panicked and ran out to the courtyard, only to find her by the well, furiously scrubbing her bedding as she cried and shivered. Letting out a sigh of relief, I went over to her and scolded her, “Sakura! How many times have I told you don’t go outside alone at night?!” She looked up at me with tears streaming down her cheeks as she desperately apologized, “I’m sorry, Papa! I didn’t mean to do it!” I sighed again as I bent down and scooped her up, “I know you didn’t do it on purpose, Sakura. Nobody does. I was just worried is all. Come, let’s get you warmed up before you get sick.” She sniffled and rubbed her eyes as she asked, “Y-you... you’re not going to push my face into it?” My eyebrows screwed together and I practically shouted, “Why in the seven hells would I do that?!” She sniffled again and looked down as she explained, “Stepmother used to get really angry with me when I messed the bed. She rubbed my face in it and said that that is how you train dogs to not do that in the house.” That explains the smell of excrement when I found her. I enveloped her in my arms and squeezed her tightly against my chest as I stroked her hair to calm her down. Her tears poured as I helped her into clean clothes and held her in my arms by the hearth to warm up. She cried into my chest as I held onto her and stroked her hair some more. She eventually fell back to sleep and I put her in my bed, got changed, and climbed into bed beside her. She curled up to me and I felt her fall into a deep sleep, not moving a muscle except to breathe.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura meets Ieyasu and it does not go well.

Minashigo (Kiyosu)   
Mitsunari   
Sakura was reading one day when I asked her if she’d like to learn swordplay. She looked thrilled by the idea, so I took her to the dojo and found a lightweight practice sword. She picked up on kendo in no time, soon able to move right alongside me. The more she learned, the more confident she became and she stopped acting so ashamed of herself. She also grew almost two heads taller. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.  
One day, about eight months after her arrival, I was training in the dojo, teaching her the basic stretches and strength exercises she needs to do every day, when she met Ieyasu and Yasumasa. She was running to the well to get water as I called out, “Sakura, don’t go too far.” She suddenly stopped short and I walked over, asking her what was wrong. As soon as I got within sight of the well, I saw what was wrong. She stood a few paces from the well, shaking as she looked at the men in front of it. I glared at Ieyasu and his yes-men, “What do you want?” He offered his usual, creepy smile as he squatted down, “Oh? Did Hideyoshi’s pet get a pet of his own? What’s your name?” Yasumasa replied, “Let me guess: Hideyoshi? She is just as ugly.” Ieyasu laughed, “I don’t know... look at her choppy hair. Plus, she’s way too tall for a girl her age.” I called her over in a deep voice, “Sakura, come here.” She turned and ran but he caught the collar of her training robe and the thin fabric tore from her body, exposing her scarred back. She continued running to me and clung to my pants, crying. I wrapped my coat around her shoulders, lifted her into my arms and bared my teeth at Ieyasu, “Are you happy now? Do you feel like strong, tough men after making an abused, six year old orphan girl cry?” Mitsuhide called out, “What’s going on out here?” He, Ranmaru, and Nobunaga appeared in the gardens and saw the standoff. When they saw Sakura’s torn training robe in Ieyasu’s hand, they figured out what had happened. Surprisingly, only Yasumasa seemed to find the whole thing amusing. Even Ieyasu was silent and serious, even looking sad and remorseful as she cried into my chest. Yasumasa laughed, “Oh, have you been a bad little girl? Does Mitsunari spank you, too?” I stroked her hair and quietly whispered to her, “Shh, it’s okay, Sakura. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Mitsuhide placed a gentle hand on her back, gave me a pouch full of coins, and told me to take her to lunch. I took her to our chambers to get changed, then took her to my favorite sweets spot in the village.   
As she picked at the manju I got her, I explained, “Ieyasu and Yasumasa are petty, crude jerks. We’ve never gotten along. They only went after you because they could tell how important you are to me.” She sniffled and asked, “Why’d they have to point that out?” I asked her what she meant and she sniffled again, “Why’d they make a point of saying how ugly I am? I already knew it but it still hurts to be reminded that I’m an ugly freak.” I sighed and took her into my lap as I explained, “Sakura, you are not ugly, nor are you a freak. You have scars, just like I do. Hideyoshi has scars too, and so do Mitsuhide and Nobunaga. Scars prove that we’ve passed tests of courage and strength. Your scars prove that you have passed the hardest tests of all. Weak, simple-minded people are always jealous of the strong, intelligent ones— especially when the latter is a girl. Don’t think on what they said for one moment. You’re a very beautiful girl, Sakura.” She still looked upset, so I decided to get a special present for her.   
As we went through the street, looking at the displays, she suddenly gripped my hand tightly. I looked at her and asked what was wrong. She was shaking as she looked at two men approaching us. I noticed they wore the same symbol around their necks which she had branded on her back, and tightened my grip on her hand as I moved her behind me, asking them, “May I help you?” The one with pale hair answered in thickly accented Japanese, “That thing behind your back... where’d you find It?” I narrowed my eyes and placed my free hand on my sword as I replied, “She is my daughter. What do you want?” The other man said, “See, It is the property of the Roman Catholic Church. It murdered three upstanding men and ran away. It needs to be punished. Hand It over.” That’s when I drew my sword, “I already told you, she’s my daughter. I will not hand her over to people who are just going to rape her. As for the men she supposedly murdered? If that did happen, I’m certain they deserved it. Get out of here while you still live.” They laughed and stepped closer. They didn’t take two steps before dropping to the ground, dead as the fish hanging in the windows. I looked behind them and saw Hanzo with a cold look in his eyes as blood dripped from his sword. I sheathed my sword and thanked him, then picked her up and introduced her, “Sakura, this is a good friend of mine, Hattori Hanzo. Hanzo, meet my daughter, Ishida Sakura.” He bent to look into her eyes and smiled, “Sakura? That’s such a pretty name. Perfect for such a pretty girl. I’m honored to meet you.” She blushed and buried her face in my chest. He laughed and I shrugged, “She’s a little shy. Thank you for helping us.” He waved off my thanks and she turned around just enough to lean her cheek against my heart and said, “Thank you, Hattori-san.” He laughed and stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger, “Don’t call me that. Just call me Hanzo or Han.” She nodded and I asked him to join us while I looked for a good gift for her. I explained what happened and he shook his head, “One of these days I’m gonna have to kick Yasumasa’s ass. Thanks for giving me the chance.”  
On the way, she heard a sound and pulled me off to a small bush. We looked into it and saw a tiny, white kit. I told her to be careful but she reached out and held her hand to it. The baby fox sniffed her hand, then licked it before trying, and failing, to stand up. She picked it up and cradled him in her arms. I knew I couldn’t tell her to leave him when I saw the smile in her eyes. I sighed and asked if she wanted to take him home. She nodded and asked if she could. I mussed her hair and said, “How can I say no to you?” So, that’s how we adopted a baby fox. She named him Kitsunari. Clever... right?


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura gets another pet— and in a rather amusing way...

Minashigo (Kiyosu) pt. 4  
Mitsunari   
Mitsuhide seems to have taken a liking to Sakura. He volunteers to take care of her any chance he gets, even if he doesn’t really have the time. I would have a problem with it if he didn’t take such good care of her. She also seems to really enjoy being around him. He protects her from any and all harm, never hesitating to kill anyone who is threatening her safety and wellbeing. The perfect example would be the incident in Kyoto two weeks ago. I wasn’t there, so he’ll have to fill you in on that.

Mitsuhide   
Two weeks ago in Kyoto? Let me guess: Mitsunari told you to come to me. Haa, okay. Here’s what happened...  
Nobunaga, Ranmaru, Hideyoshi, Mitsunari and I went to the capital city for supplies and a little reconnaissance and we brought Sakura with us. Nobunaga sent Hideyoshi and Mitsunari on an errand and I volunteered to take care of Sakura since he and I were staying in the shopping district. I was playing a game with her by the riverbank while Nobunaga talked to one of his informants. He summoned me over to discuss what his informant had told him and I stood not far from her as she continued the game. There was a sudden commotion when a man’s voice shouted, “Get out of my way, you insolent brat! How dare you get in my way?!” I turned to my left and saw Sakura clutching a little black kitten to her chest as some low-ranking, wannabe samurai raised his fist to strike her. The crowd watched her as she stared defiantly into the man’s eyes, daring him to strike her. He started to bring his hand down to her and I leapt at him, unsheathing my katana as I pushed off the ground. His hand and arm fell to the dirty road, followed by his other arm, then the rest of his torso slid to the right as I landed between them and I scooped her up into my arms, his knees buckling in front of us as she looked down at the pathetic heap of flesh. The cuts were so clean and fast, his heart was still beating even as the dismembered pieces of his body lay at my feet. I’m sure the effect of his life fluid spraying onto us as we stood over the bloody body parts was terrifying. Sakura hugged and thanked me, then nuzzled the kitten’s little head as it purred and rubbed its cheek on hers. I looked out at the gathered crowd, my chest heaving like a demon as I flicked the blood from my sword and carried her back to the riverbank. I held her in my lap as we resumed our game as though nothing had happened.   
She later explained to me that she saw the man actively trying to step on the baby cat and she couldn’t sit by and let the animal get hurt. Mitsunari allowed her to keep the kitten and she named him Meiyo, “Honor”, after my nickname and the concept of never harming anyone who is unable to defend themselves. Meiyo is all black, with bright, almost sanguine eyes, and loves to bring us little “gifts” of dead rats, birds, and mice. It is kind of amusing to see the retainers and maids scream when Meiyo walks up to Sakura, Mitsunari, Hideyoshi, Nobunaga, or me, and proudly places the (usually decapitated) corpse in front of us. Sakura can’t seem to get enough of their reactions and scratches Meiyo’s ears while he purrs in her lap. He always has to sleep right by her at night and, during the day he sleeps on her pillow.   
Hanzo met him in a rather amusing way, too, come to think of it. I’ll let Mitsunari tell you about that. 

Mitsunari   
Meiyo? What can I say about Meiyo? He enjoys a good joke and seems to find endless amusement in sneaking up on people and giving little “offerings”. One day, he did just that with Hanzo and he nearly shit a brick. I’d never seen a ninja fall out of a tree until that day. I don’t know what exactly Meiyo did to startle him that much, though. I just know that Sakura and I were in the courtyard, practicing her strength-building exercises, when she looked up at the tree by the well. I tried to see what she was seeing, but my eyes aren’t as good as hers. After a moment, the leaves suddenly shook, a man’s voice cried out in shock, and the famed ninja of Iga fell out of the tree and landed flat on his ass. He shook his head to clear it, then looked up at us as we stood in front of him with barely-contained laughter. Meiyo happily hopped down onto the ground and rubbed Hanzo’s arm a bit, purring as he happily placed a dead rabbit by his hand, then sat on his haunches and smiled at Hanzo. That’s when we lost it. Hanzo turned bright red as we laughed at the whole ridiculous scene. We were laughing so hard, we were unable to explain what happened to Mitsuhide and Nobunaga when they asked about it. I finally caught my breath and helped him up as she scooped the black kitten into her arms. 

Kiyohiro   
It wasn’t that funny. Imagine going to a castle to give a report on a recent job, focusing entirely on your work as you sit in a hideout spot, then feel a pressure on your shoulder and find a dead animal hanging on it. Then imagine the corpse falling onto your chest and seeing a set of glowing, blood red eyes now floating where the body had been. That’s why I fell out of the tree. Of course, that part is never explained. And, of course, embarrassing stories travel faster than light, so everyone in Japan knew about this by the end of the week. Thankfully, there are a couple dozen Hattori Hanzo’s under the employ of the Tokugawa, so most people don’t know that I’m the one who was startled by a kitten and fell out of a tree. I do wish they’d stop telling everyone about it, though. Ugh, but they’re too amused by it to ever let me live it down.


End file.
